Midnight Sky
by TheLovelyBones1
Summary: In the darkness, she regrets the decision she made that day in the airport, can broken dreams be repaired?...Spoilers for 5X22!


"Midnight Sky"

(One Shot) (Finally jumping on the band wagon of writing a reaction story to Bones Season Five Finale)

(Disclaimer: All Bones characters sadly do not belong to me…as much as I wish they did) (Too bad there's only one David Boreanaz...) (Lyrics used: "Start Again," By: Red)

It was a brisk January night; the dark pavement of the street glittering with a nightly frost. As she wearily treaded on the pavement, the click of her heels echoed throughout the deserted town, most people nestled in the comfort of their warm homes. A sudden stitch of wind caused her longer auburn locks to airily dance around her pale, porcelain face for a moment as the chill overtook her. Pulling her black button down coat closer to herself, she clutched the only protection from the bitter cold that swirled around the city.

Temperance Brennan was a woman who usually had a specific destination in mind, knew exactly what she wanted to accomplish as there was an objective in her actions always. But in this exact moment of time, as she paused on the sidewalk, she felt her life stop at a standstill. She was engulfed in this tremendous moment where she felt frozen in time, unable to choose her next path. As she stood on the corner under a streetlight, thoughts of recent days came rushing back. Her time in Indonesia had not lasted a year, but six months at most, because she could not overcome the pang of pain that came with being away from Booth, from being away from her home. Booth was her home…That was when she boarded a plane from Indonesia to Washington D.C., saying goodbye to Daisy and the promise of making groundbreaking discoveries.

"_And I remember everything, everything I loved. And I gave it away, like it wasn't enough…" _

Somehow, she began to walk again, with no particular direction in mind. In her fantasies, coming home earlier would mean that his time in Afghanistan would have been shortened, that when she came home, he would be here, as if fate would have taken over and brought him to her. Then she reminded herself, being a scientist at heart, "No," she spoke aloud, "That's not all I am…" But she could not shake off some of the cool, calculating thoughts that ran through her head as she dissected the word "fate." Fate was a term devised by mankind; something that gave the masses a method of rationalizing the unexplainable, certain things that were currently untouched by scientific inquiry and logic. Booth would have argued with her reasoning. He probably would have presented an equally persuasive point about fate bringing people together, how soul mates existed, the kind of talk that Booth was so comfortable with. Had she learned nothing from his words? Perhaps she was fooling herself, perhaps her science blinded her to truth. Science wasn't supposed to do that…

No one knew she was home; it was her first night back in Washington DC and she wandered the streets, unsure of what to do. Should she go to her apartment? It was being kept for her…even so, she couldn't call anyone. She was craving some kind of human connection, only to be met with an obstacle every time. Cam had taken a sabbatical in result of her entire team dissipating, Sweets was off visiting his family, probably still on vacation from the Christmas holidays, and Hodgins and Angela were reveling in their own happiness in the most romantic place on earth. It was true that she was happy for the bliss that her best friend was feeling, but she couldn't deny that she felt intense moments of jealousy.

She was envious of Hodgin's and Angela's ability to just be together, to cherish one another, to love one another unconditionally, to give themselves to one another completely. Love is _transcendent._ That was her downfall, her inability to surrender herself to Booth….she replayed the moment when he uttered the words: "I wanna give this a shot" in her mind again and again. She had replied: "You mean us?" He had asked her to throw caution to the wind, to take a chance and fall into a romantic relationship. But that was the problem, it was a chance. A risk. Taking risks could lead to a person's downfall, the opening of old scars, the result being two damaged people.

"_All the words I said and all you forgive. How could I hurt you again?"_

She couldn't risk losing him. But was she not damaged even now? Hadn't she let him go? Wasn't it because of her that they were on separate ends of the earth? Wasn't this, the despair that she was feeling all her fault? Ultimately, her fear had consumed her and had gotten them nowhere, for it only pulled them farther and farther apart. Sweet's voice suddenly chimed into her mind: "It's like you two missed your moment…" "Truer words had never been spoken," she murmured sadly under her breath as she continued to walk down the street. Reaching up to place some stray hairs behind her ear, she gazed up from the ground to take in her surroundings. Ironically enough, here she stood at the Reflecting Pool, one of the many notable landmarks of Washington D.C. The place they said they would meet in a year. It was as if her heart had taken control of her body, complete logic seemed to be thrown out the window.

Yes, Temperance Brennan had lost control of her body, her ability to compartmentalize and her life. There outlined in the ghostly light of the moon, a bench called to her, her shadow illuminated by the dim twinkle of a few stars as it followed her. Sitting down and keeping her eyes directed toward the sky she began to wonder. She wondered if Booth had looked at those same stars, that same sky, only mere hours before her…She wondered if he was thinking about her, desperately hoping that he hadn't forgotten her, that she still occupied his thoughts, as he was still in hers. He had been in hers ever since she left him in the airport, some six months ago. Even miles and miles away, just by this possibility, that they both spotted the same stars hovering over the earth, she felt a little warmth blossom in her chest.

"_What if I let you win? What if I make it right? What if I give it up? What if I want to try?"_

His image had haunted her as she was knee deep in mud looking at human remains in the jungles of Maluku Islands. She had tried to keep a firm grip on rationality. But in those early months of her expedition, she had not being able to think logically when his face clouded her dreams and nightmares. She became surrounded by thoughts of him getting hurt, of her not being able to help him, of him leaving her permanently…She had made an effort to corresponded with him frequently, but as Booth got deeper into his training sessions, his communication with her became restricted, his authority figures noticing how much time he spent speaking with her…

She eventually lost all contact with him, so she tried to immerse herself in ancient remains as a way to focus. But she chose to come home, she came home and gave up the possibility of uncovering links to what it meant to be human, to rebuild the shambles of her abandoned life. But most importantly, she returned early to wait for Booth, to ensure that nothing would hold her back when he came home. When he would set foot on U.S. soil, she would be there and would no longer run, for she no longer had the strength to…because living without Booth was not living at all.

"_What if you take a chance? What if I learn to love? What if, what if we start again?"_

The only downside to this master plan was the possibility that Booth had moved on. Maybe he no longer wanted her. She knew she was responsible for the shattering of his heart for she could almost hear it breaking that night they had relayed their first case to Sweets. When he had kissed her and she had pulled away. She would have been able to hear every piece of his heart crumble if the breaking of her own hadn't pounded in her ears as she rejected him, as she pushed her own feelings of love deeper into herself. As she ran through these ghosts of memories there was one conclusion she could always draw, and it was that her own unhappiness was her doing, the blame fell upon her.

"_All this time I can make it right. With one more try, can we start again? In my eyes you can see it now. Can we start again? Can we start again?"_

A lone tear slid down her cheek and she brushed it away quickly. Sighing and looking up to the night sky once more, in the first time in her life, Temperance Brennan began to pray. In a small whisper she said, "I know that Science has been unable to present proof of the existence of a higher deity, but I've been told that just talking, about your feelings, someone may be listening…I just want to ask one thing. Please tell me that I haven't lost the man that I, that I….. love, forever. Please, give me a sign, here tonight. Tell me that my foolish actions of leaving our partnership behind hasn't damaged my relationship with him, please….he's my best friend, I can't bear him not coming back. Or him coming back and something or someone separating us, me not being able to be with him- I…" she swallowed "Maybe I'm being selfish; maybe I don't deserve him now. Maybe people don't deserve a second chance." The stars above her began to dim and she looked down at her feet, suddenly feeling foolish and even more alone than before.

"_Emptiness inside me, wonder if you see. It's my mistake and it's hurting me. I know where we've been, how'd we get so far? What if, what if we start again?"_

Time started to feel as though it didn't exist. She could have been there seconds, minutes, hours, it all seemed irrelevant now. The thing to break her out of her trance was a droplet of sleet that dripped down her cheek. Brennan's slim hand reached up to her face to wipe it away, as more ice fell around her. The clouds began shedding more icy tears. Getting up from the bench, she figured catching pneumonia would be unwise and hoped to find some shelter. Perhaps she would find some solace within the Royal Diner. She started to think that a cup of coffee would warm her.

"_All this time I can make it right. With one more try, can we start again? In my eyes you can see it now. Can we start again? Can we start again?"_

Quickly becoming drenched in sleet, a dark form in the distance caught her eye. It looked like a person standing far away, on the other side of the Reflecting Pool. Squinting, she began to walk down the long stretch of road before her. She felt it to be odd that there was another passerby outside in the dead of night in this dreadful weather. She momentarily thought that she shouldn't be walking towards someone she didn't know when the area was deserted, but common sense seemed to have left her. Brennan suddenly found that her stride was becoming longer and faster and she almost couldn't understand why. As she ran towards this phantom person, she saw that it was a man and that he began to run towards her as well.

"_I'm lost inside the pain that I feel without you. I can't stop holding on, I need you with me.  
I'm caught inside the pain. Can we ever start again? I'm lost without you…"_

Familiar features then snapped into focus. Broad shoulders, an angular, strong jaw, a muscled build and tan skin covered by a long black coat… 'But it can't be' she thought, believing she was stumbling into a dream. As they ran, they stomped through puddles, streams of water and snow splashing around them. He skid to a halt while she almost fell to her knees in her heels. Toppling into his arms, he firmly caught her as a look of concern played across his face. "Bones! Bones, Bones…" It became less than a whisper, but she melted as the familiar nickname left his lips. Brown eyes pierced the blue while she stood in his arms; their faces becoming closer and closer within each passing second.

Distancing himself, he spoke: "I, how is, how is this possible? I pulled out of my duties, I left, it wasn't right for me Bones. I couldn't risk losing…How are you here? How…how are you?" She could feel his hot breath on her cold face and she didn't dare move for fear that he was a mirage… "Bones, talk to me-" he said with a mixture of worry and happiness. That was when she slowly took both her hands, and traced them along his brow, feather light, he closed his eyes at her touch, as she continued down his cheeks and across his jaw-line. Both people were struck speechless, but this was all the proof she needed, that what was happening was real.

She collided her lips with his and he quickly deepened the kiss. Both people, man and woman just existing in a moment of pure bliss. The stars and planets seemed to align as a burst of passion enveloped them, the entire universe above them sparkling in complete satisfaction. Breaking the connection, taking gulping breaths of air with foreheads resting together, Brennan pulled her face away from his, but looked up to him and said: "Booth….I'm a gambler, I have your kind of open heart." He looked as if he thought he was dreaming.

"What?" he said, as she tightly grabbed onto his arms… "I am going to love you in 30 years, or 40 or 50 or, or 100…forever." She said as a look of complete shock slowly turned into a "charm smile" on his lips. "And always…" He chimed in smiling and laughing, tears now beginning to cascade down both faces. He reached down to her side and clasped her hand as she weaved their fingers together. "How bout we start forever right now?" He said. Nothing more needed to be said, everything that had run through their minds over the past six months, over the past 5 ½ years became known with a simple glance, for Seeley Booth and Temperance Brennan became one that night…Never taking their gazes off one another, they walked, Brennan nestling her head into Booth's shoulder, the once midnight sky allowing slivers of the dawn's light to smile down upon them.

"_One more try, can we start again?  
In my eyes, can you forgive me now?  
Can we start again? Can we start again?  
We Can…"_

So there you have it friends. Hope you like, would love to hear your thoughts, I'm new to this writing world ;)


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